Democratic mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio made the pledge during a meeting with the Advance Editorial Board on Saturday in the newspaper's Grasmere headquarters.

"I'm not going to raise property taxes, period," de Blasio said during a wide-ranging conversation that also touched on the New York Wheel/Empire Outlets project, Hurricane Sandy recovery and how Staten Island would not be a forgotten borough in a de Blasio administration.

A number of Advance readers, when asked what question they would like to ask de Blasio, mentioned property taxes, as well as concerns about ever escalating water bills and other fees.

The Brooklynite said that as a homeowner himself, the property-tax issue resonates with him.

"I understand what property taxes mean to people," he said, adding that there was "no reason" to raise them.

De Blasio said that if elected, he wants only to raise taxes on those who make $500,000 or more a year, and only in order to provide universal pre-K and after-school programming.

The tax would sunset after five years, he said.

But the plan would require approval by the state Legislature, and few believe that Albany lawmakers will give approval in 2014, when all of them, including Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, are up for re-election.

That has led to speculation that a Mayor De Blasio would look to hike property taxes, the one levy that the city has complete control over.

But de Blasio told the Advance no.

"One tax," de Blasio said. "That's all I'm interested in. Only in terms of schools, only in terms of people who make half a million a year or more. And only on income tax. So, no on property tax."

As for water bills, de Blasio, who tackled the issue as public advocate, he would look to eliminate the "add-on" portion of the water rate that goes to the city's general treasury.

"I want water bills to only be the amount necessary to provide the water," de Blasio said.

He also said there needs to be a fair appeal process for homeowners and businesses that challenge their water bills. He said some of the "most egregious" examples of inaccurate water bills occurred on the Island.

"If you get an inaccurate water bill, God help you," said de Blasio, "because there is no functional appeal process now in the City of New York, and that's unacceptable. I want to restore an actual appeal process when the customer can win when they're right."